Sunny spring

Hello,

Today is the most lovely sunny spring day.  I'm sitting here with the window open listening to the birds tweeting away.  It's a very nice Friday.
On a spring note, here's some spring themed work.  I created these a few weeks back when we had the first few really sunny spring days.  I love this time of year for the colour it brings in nature, also the days get longer and it's lighter, it always feels like a very optimistic time of year.

These two images will also be prints which are going to be for sale in my shop, which will be opening soon.  Eek! did I just say that?!  I'm still preparing everything at the moment but it should be up and running shortly.  It takes a little while to organise it all.  

Right, back to work with a cuppa.  See you soon!

A couple of dishes

Hello,

Today I'm sharing some recent food illustrations.  One of my favourite things to eat when it's cold are hot, spicy, soupy noodles.   If I make them myself I always make too much (and generally eat them all!).  In fact I ate them last night, yum.  You can bung in any ingredients really but I try to put in lots of colourful vegetables and then add fish, tofu or nuts.  It's also a great 'using up' dish.  I'll be honest I generally make quite a mess eating them but that's part of the joy :).

From hot to cold.  I also make a lot of big salads.  The one below is really colourful and the illustration is shown on the They Draw and Cook website as part of their 'Eat the rainbow' challenge.  This salad seemed like the perfect recipe.  I especially loved drawing the beetroot and salad leaves, mixing all the mediums.  

Right, back to work.  The sun is out today, hooray! and I'm starting to see the arrival of spring flowers.  I love spring, the colourful flowers, and longer days.  Have a lovely weekend :).

London

Hello,

This week I want to share some London themed work I've been doing recently (I love drawing London things!)  The first is an illustration of an area of Carnaby Street and around.  It's an area I feel I know quite well.  I wanted to stick to a particular colour range and include places and items that have stuck out to me as I've walked around.  I do enjoy drawing the Liberty building, it's so iconic and beautiful, and I really enjoyed selecting what else to draw for my kind of map.

The second illustration I created after reading a book I received for Christmas called 'Underground Tales for London'.  It contains twelve stories from twelve different authors all inspired by, yep, the Underground.  I created an image for each story and then centred them around an image of a tube train.  I had fun creating this little project for myself and it also encouraged me to draw more figures which is something I haven't done that much of recently.

I hope you're having a good week.  It's pouring with rain where I am at the moment but I'm happy that now it's staying lighter longer at night, I'm always excited to see that change.  Right, back to the desk with a cuppa for some more drawing :).

Have a great weekend.

January

Hello,

So, January is almost at an end.  The month which I know many think is the worst of the year.  I've actually enjoyed mine, even the cold, (I think this week was the first real cold snap for me).  So, as (in the UK at least) it's a time to be warm and toasty I'm sharing a winter vegetable illustration.  I love root veggies, super easy to cook and very healthy too.  They also have these beautiful rich colours.

Whilst on a healthy theme it's also the time of year when a lot of people get to the gym and go on a bit of a health kick.  I wanted to draw more objects so I decided to draw my trainers (these ones are only a few weeks old so they still look decent).  I wanted to draw them simply using only ink and pen, just as a challenge for myself really. 

Last weekend I also took a trip to the William Morris Gallery it was a beautiful albeit cold day and as the sun was setting I took a quick walk around the gardens.  It's so nice and peaceful there and of course the gallery has a beautiful collection.  

I also visited the Royal Academy to see the Klimt/Schiele drawings.  I really wanted to see these drawings close up.  I think it closes this weekend so if you get the chance go.  

Ok that's it for now.  Have a wonderful weekend!  

London

Hello,

I hope January is going well for you.  I know it can feel like a long month although I have to say so far personally I've been really enjoying it.
This week I'm sharing some London themed illustrations I've worked on recently.  I always love to draw London buildings and areas and it's something I intend to continue with.  Actually, I'm working on a London themed illustration now quite by chance.

Right, back to the desk with a cup of tea :).  Have a lovely toasty weekend!

Coastal walking

Hello,

So now the first week of January is well and truly over, Christmas and even New Year feel like a lifetime ago!  I've been getting back to work and life, (as has the body,) and so far I'm enjoying 2019, and I've been making lots of plans for the year ahead.
Today I am looking back though to my time post Christmas when I went for another very lovely walk at one of my favourite places, Wells-Next-the-Sea (it has the best name).  I have a lot of lovely childhood memories from there, and I love to visit.  I've drawn lots of illustrations inspired by Wells in the past and I'm sure I will continue to do so.  I especially loved drawing the bark and the seaweed.

I have taken so many photos of beach huts over the years, but it can't hurt to have a few more.  I love the pop of colour they bring no matter the weather.  

I hope you've been having a good start to 2019, and have a lovely cosy weekend :).

Happy New Year!

Hello and Happy New Year!

I hope you've had a good break if you've had one.  I had a lovely Christmas with my family and have come back feeling relaxed and refreshed.  It was lovely to spend some time in the countryside and go for some nice long walks.  I created the illustration below following a walk around Dunwich.  It's known for suffering badly with erosion over the years, so a lot of old buildings have ended up in the sea.  It is told that on stormy nights you can hear the bells of old churches ringing from the sea....

Just before Christmas I also visited Blickling Hall.  For Christmas they light up the gardens and house and I've wanted to go for a while now.  This year I finally made it.  It was very cold but worth the wait, it was so pretty, (luckily I had some mulled wine and a gingerbread tree to help warm me up, of course! yum) 

It felt really Christmassy.  It all feels like a long time ago now though.  I'm really excited for the year ahead though, I've come back full of new ideas and I'm excited to be back to the table drawing!
I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your break if you had one, and that Santa bought you all you hoped for!  I'll be back soon with more new work :).